Article
Bernd von Muenchow-Pohl
{
"authors": [
"Bernd von Muenchow-Pohl"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SAP",
"programs": [
"South Asia"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"South Asia",
"India",
"Western Europe",
"Asia",
"Europe"
],
"topics": [
"Economy",
"Trade",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
The Fireworks Are Still Missing
Despite initially high expectations, the enhanced relationship between India and the European Union has so far made relatively little impact and has fallen short of its own objectives.
Published on Nov 18, 2011
Source: Great Indian Dream
From a historic perspective, the match seemed as if it would have a solid foundation. Adding a new dimension to its relationship with Europe, which was still overshadowed by the colonial past, New Delhi established diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community (EEC) as early as 1963. Ten years later, when Britain — India’s most important trading partner at the time — joined the original six EEC members, India’s loss of imperial trade preferences led to its first commercial cooperation agreement with the community. It took both sides another 20 years to sign their first political declaration after the EEC had morphed into an enlarged European Union of then twelve member states. In 2000, India’s raised economic and political profile and the EU’s desire to extend its newly defined political mission beyond the confines of the European continent after the end of the Cold War, brought about the first summit meeting in Lisbon. Successive annual summits heralded the EU-India Strategic Partnership (2004) and a voluminous Joint Action Plan for its implementation (2005).
About the Author
Bernd von Muenchow-Pohl
Former Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Von Muenchow-Pohl was a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s South Asia Program, where his work focuses on Indian domestic, foreign, and economic policy.
- EU Relations with China and India: Courting the Dragon, Wooing the Elephant
- India and Europe in a Multipolar WorldPaper
Bernd von Muenchow-Pohl
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Was it Right to Boycott Eurovision?Commentary
Five countries staged the biggest political boycott in Eurovision history over Israel’s participation. With the FIFA World Cup and other sporting or cultural touchstones on the horizon, are boycotts effective?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Trump Turns NATO into a Tool of CoercionCommentary
The full list of humiliations Europe has endured since Donald Trump returned to the White House makes for grim reading. But Washington’s adversarial approach to its allies undermines its own power base.
Rym Momtaz
- How the EU Can Become Energy IndependentCommentary
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a global energy crisis, but Europe is stuck in reaction mode. Without more strategic foresight, the EU will remain dependent on fossil fuels and will never be truly secure.
Milo McBride, Pauline Gerard
- Deciphering Europe’s Relationship with TurkeyCommentary
Debate is heating up on how Turkey could be integrated into a common European defense framework. Commercial and industrial deals offer a better chance at alignment than sweeping political efforts.
Marc Pierini
- Taking the Pulse: Is it Worth it for Europeans to Placate Trump?Commentary
After spending much of 2025 trying to placate Donald Trump, some European leaders are starting to change posture. But is even a hostile Washington still so important to Europe that the U.S. president’s outbursts are worth putting up with?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
